Jerry Lucas
Court hearings for a 74-year-old man accused of trying to kill his neighbor last Thanksgiving have been delayed until mid-summer.
Jerry L. Lucas, 6560 State Road 46 West, is charged with attempted murder as a Level 1 felony and battery by means of a deadly weapon as a Level 5 felony.
On the night of Nov. 24, Lucas is accused of firing a gun at a neighbor who was riding with his daughter in a golf cart looking for a lost cat, according to a probable cause affidavit. The father later told investigators he heard four shots before he received a minor shrapnel wound, the court document states.
Lucas entered his home before officers arrived, and refused to come out after they arrived, Columbus Police spokesman Lt. Matt Harris said. After a three-and-a-half hour standoff involving crisis negotiators and a SWAT team, Lucas was taken into custody, the spokesman said.
During a scheduled change of plea hearing Monday, public defender Elliott Happel asked for a continuance from Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton. Both the state and defense are still exchanging lists of witnesses and evidence, Happel said. Negotiations that might avoid a costly trial are also ongoing, he added.
New court dates include a change of plea hearing on July 24 at 9:45 a.m., a pre-trial conference on Aug. 22 at 9:45 a.m. and a tentative trial date of Aug. 22 at 8:30 a.m.
The defendant remains at the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond or 10% cash.
